Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, better known simply
as Vitruvius, was a Roman architect and engineer of the 1st century BCE.
Due to the classical foundation of Renaissance
art in general, and Renaissance architecture
in particular, Vitruvius has become one of the most famous architects
- not for anything he designed, but for his erudite multi-volume treatise
De Architectura ("On Architecture"), written around 27
BCE and republished during the Early
Renaissance in 1486. Apart from what little we can glean from this
work, we know little about his life and career, or the architecture
for which he may have been responsible. Even so, because his unique treatise
covers all aspects of classical building design,
it has become a bible of sorts for many students of classical
antiquity, and he himself is regarded as one of the principal contemporary
authorities on Greek architecture and (to a lesser
extent) Roman architecture, about which (ironically)
he was more pessimistic. For a comparison with a leading architect from
Ancient Egypt, see: Imhotep (active c.2650 BCE).

Biography

Few details are known about Vitruvius's
life. He is referred to in print by the natural scientist Pliny the Elder
(23-79 CE) and by the soldier and aqueduct engineer Sextus Julius Frontinus
(35-103 CE), although neither his first name Marcus nor his cognomen Pollio
are authenticated. His books appear to be dedicated to Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor, which - since he wrote them when he was an old man - presumably
means that he was most active during the middle of the first century BCE.
Almost certainly born a Roman citizen, he mentions in his books that he
served as an artilleryman - most probably as the officer in charge of
a number of artillery engineers, specializing in siege machinery and earthworks,
in Gaul, Spain and North Africa. (Note: in both classical and medieval
eras, military engineering, architecture and building construction were
closely linked.)

After military service, Vitruvius seems
to have established himself as a professional architect, in which capacity
he would have been involved in various types of surveying, engineering,
and urban planning, as well as architectural design. During this time
he is known to have designed only one building (now destroyed) - a basilica
in the town of Fano, Italy. In about 27 BCE he began writing his magnum
opus De Architectura, and in his final years he was given a generous
pension by Augustus, although whether this was for his treatise, or for
military services rendered, is unclear. Despite being included by the
Renaissance mathematician Gerolamo Cardano (1501-76) in his list of the
12 most exceptional scientists, the fact that there is no record of when
or where Vitruvius died, suggests that he was less of a celebrity in his
own life that his subsequent fame suggests.

De Architectura
("On Architecture")

Reportedly rediscovered in 1414 by the
Florentine scholar Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459) (though not published
until 1486), this multi-volume treatise contains the basis of much of
what we know about Roman technology, and is the only major surviving work
on architecture from classical antiquity. Along with contemporary books
like De Re Aedificatoria (1485), by Leon
Battista Alberti (1404-72), it is said to have influenced a huge number
of Renaissance architects, including Filippo
Brunelleschi (1377-1446), Donato
Bramante (1444-1514), Sebastiano Serlio (1475-1554) - architectural
adviser to the Fontainebleau
School in France - Michelangelo
(1475-1564), Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), Giulio
Romano (1499-1546), Vignola (1507-1573),
and Andrea Palladio (1508-80), whose
Venetian Renaissance architecture
influenced the English architect Inigo Jones
(1573-1652).

De Architectura is divided into
ten books on a wide variety of architectural subjects including structural
design and city planning; the use of the Greek orders of architecture
(Doric, Ionic, Corinthian), notably in temple construction; building materials;
public baths and theatres; domestic houses; floors and stucco decoration;
clocks and astronomy; and hydraulics. It covers most aspects of architectural
science, although it focuses largely on Greek models. This focus on Hellenistic
design was because Vitruvius had a low opinion of contemporary Roman architecture
- a somewhat ironic position, since Roman architects were soon to make
a radical shift from Greek ideas and construct some of the greatest public
buildings, bridges, roads and other monumental structures which the world
has ever seen. See also: Roman Art.

De Architectura includes Vitruvius's
famous assertion that a well designed structure must possess the three
attributes (the Vitruvian Triad) of firmitas, utilitas,
venustas  meaning, it must be solid, useful, and beautiful.
In addition, he explains that Greek architecture is based upon mathematical
concepts like the circle and the square, which form the fundamental geometric
patterns of the cosmos, and which are aligned with the measurements of
the human body. (See also: Greek Art.)
This concept was later illustrated by Leonardo
Da Vinci (1452-1519) in his iconic drawing
of Vitruvian Man (c.1492, Venice
Academy Gallery).

Even so, Vitruvius is regarded less as
an original thinker and more as a codifier of existing theory and practice.
Moreover, his low opinion of Roman architecture is understandable, given
the small number of exceptional buildings. The only noteworthy structures
erected during Vitruvius's time (c.100-25 BCE) were the Temple of Hercules,
Cori (80 BCE); the Apartment Blocks (Insulae) at Ostia (79 BCE); and the
beginnings of The Forum in Rome. Neither the Maison Carree at Nimes (19
BCE), nor the Pont Du Gard Aqueduct, Nimes (19 BCE) were in existence
when De Architectura was written.